Shawn's Pain
by BeeBee18
Summary: This is a story about the day Chet Hunter died. Not slash. Apologies for the bad title. Hope you like it! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone! This is just a little fic that I thought up. This is NOT a slash story.

Two disclaimers:

1\. I don't own Boy Meets World.

2\. This fic is about when Chet Hunter dies. I have never seen this episode, because I could never bring myself to see Chet die and to see Shawn so sad. Because of this, I have no idea how close or far my story is to how the story actually is for that episode. I hope you like it! Constructive criticism is welcome!

Shawn was in shock. No, he must not have heard correctly. His father could not be dead. That was not even possible.

"I'm so sorry, Shawn." Amy Matthews' tear-filled voice sounded to him like it was coming from very far away.

Shawn looked around him for a moment, almost in fear, then bolted from the room, down the stairs, and out of the hospital.

"Shawn!" Cory called and started to chase after his friend, but Alan held him back.

"I think you should give Shawn some space right now," Alan told his son quietly and gently.

"But Chet just…" Cory trailed off. He simply could not admit that Chet was gone, and sounded like he was going to cry himself.

"That's why Shawn may need some space," Amy said quietly. It was hard to keep her own emotions at bay, but she tried to stay strong for her hurting son. "I know Shawn's going to need his best friend very soon, though. So please, Cory, try to be strong and help Shawn with anything he may need. Alright?"

Cory nodded, but then he wasn't able to hold it back any longer and let the tears fall. Amy held her son tightly as he sobbed.

'He didn't deserve to die!' Cory thought to himself as he cried. "He may not have been the best father in the world, but he was a kind man, and he tried his best!'

Alan noticed Jack sitting in a chair apart from everyone else, a dazed look on his face. The older man walked over to the younger one slowly and clapped him on the shoulder. Jack looked up.

"I barely even knew him," Jack said quietly. He had known as soon as he had met Alan that this was a caring man to whom Shawn came with any problem, and that he could, too. "I barely knew him, but I miss him so much." Jack looked up at Alan with tears in his eyes. "Why do I miss him so much?"

Alan sighed and sat next to the young man. "Well, here's the thing, Jack. No matter how well you know a father, they will always be your father, and because of that, you will always love them. I know it was sometimes hard to tell, but Chet loved you and Shawn a lot, and he was always so proud of every single little achievement of yours. I'm sorry this had to happen, but I'm glad that you love your father enough to grieve for him. That's the right thing right now. Even if it hurts."

Jack nodded, putting his face in his hands as tears coursed down his cheeks.

The older man squeezed Jack's shoulder comfortingly. "I know it hurts a lot right now. That's normal. But you'll see, over time, the pain will leave, and you'll just be able to remember your father in happiness. I promise. It just takes time."

Jack took a deep breath. "I have to go to Shawn," he said quietly. "He knew my dad a lot better than I ever did. And knowing him, he's probably beating himself up right now because he was fighting with Dad. And I'm not there with him. Oh, what kind of a brother am I?"

"Jack." Alan's firm but gentle voice stopped Jack's rant. "Don't worry. You're doing a great job as an older brother, and Shawn's going to be alright. But I agree, you should go find him and make sure he's okay."

Jack nodded and rushed out of the hospital.

He returned a moment. "I don't know where Shawn would be," he said, almost sheepishly.

"I think I know where he is," came Cory's voice behind him.

"Show me." It sounded like an order, but Cory knew Jack well enough by now that he only sounded that way because he was stressed out and worried.

Cory left the hospital at a run with Jack on his heels. They ran all the way to the trailer park where the Hunters used to live. Cory found the Hunters' trailer and opened the door.

"Hey, Shawnie."

Shawn was sitting on the couch. When he looked up, Cory saw that his eyes were red and bloodshot.

"Go away, Cory."

"Alright. But Jack's outside and he wants to see you."

"Tell him to leave."

"No. Come on in Jack!" Cory called out the door.

Jack entered the trailer apprehensively. "Hi, Shawn. You doing okay?"

"Yes! I'm fine, alright? Now everyone just leave me alone!" Shawn stormed out of the room in anger.

"What have I done?" Jack asked softly. He sat down on the couch and put his face in his hands. "Now my brother hates me."

Cory sat beside the older boy. "He doesn't hate you. But when times get tough, Shawn tends to push away the people who care about him, and who can help him through all of this. Just remember to help him when he does come to you, because he will eventually."

Jack smiled slightly. "Thanks, Cory."

"No problem."

Jack left the trailer, and Cory sighed. He knew that Shawn needed help and he needed it right now.

Cory went and knocked on Shawn's bedroom door. Silence. "Shawn, open up!" Nothing happened.

Then, Cory remembered that the lock on this door no longer worked. He tried the doorknob and the door opened easily. As soon as Shawn saw that Cory had followed him, he tried to leave. Cory quickly blocked the door.

"Cory, let me go!"

"No!"

Shawn tried to push past his friend, but Cory pushed him back.

Suddenly, Shawn stopped fighting. His whole body sagged, and he would have fallen had Cory not held him up. Shawn looked at Cory, the pain evident in his eyes.

"Is my dad really gone?" he whispered.

"I'm afraid so. I'm so sorry, Shawn."

A tear ran down Shawn's cheek, and then a sob began to build in his throat. Finally he couldn't hold it in any longer and fell to the floor, sobbing his heart out. Cory sat down on the floor beside his friend, patient for once. He was there to to help as much as he could, but this was an internal battle that Shawn would have to fight on his own.

After a long time, Shawn's sobs turned to sniffles and he sat up, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

"How are you doing?" Cory asked his friend gently.

Shawn just shrugged, not speaking.

Cory stood up and held a hand out to his friend to help him up. "Come on, Shawn. Come home."

"Where's home?" Shawn asked quietly. His voice was weak and thin.

"My house has always been home. Shawn," Cory crouched down next to his friend. "You know that, don't you?"

"Sometimes, I don't know if I have a home anywhere."

"My house will always be your home, Shawn. And my parents are at home right now and I know they would like to see you. Come on."

Shawn slowly and reluctantly stood and allowed himself to be led out the door and to the bus stop. The bus picked them up two minutes later, and it was only a five-minute ride to the stop down the street from the Matthews'. Soon, Cory and Shawn were in the living room of the house and Amy was hugging Shawn tightly.

"How are you doing?" Amy asked the young man gently.

"I guess I'm coping," Shawn said. His face was expressionless.

"That's good to hear. I promise it'll get easier."

Shawn nodded. "Thanks."

"I think I'll go back to the apartment," Shawn said turning towards the door. Then he turned around for a moment. "Thank you so much," he said sincerely. "Really. I really appreciate everything you've done for me."

"Of course, Shawn. Anytime," Alan said gruffly, in order to hide his emotion. "Now go home and get some sleep."

Shawn gave a small smile. "Yes, sir." And with that, he left.

A/N: Hope you guys like it! Let me know what you thought! Should I add to this? Also, did anyone catch Cory and Shawn's signature line snuck in there? ;)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's chapter 2! Sorry for the long wait, guys. I hope you like it, and please R&R! Certain scenes here were inspired by The Teal Dragon's story "Where the Heart Is". If you've read it, you might notice the parts that were inspired by the story. If you haven't, I highly recomend reading it, because it's a great story.  
P.S. An asterisk (*) indicates a scene change.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Boy Meets World.

Jack looked up as the door to their apartment opened and Shawn entered.

"Shawn," Jack breathed. "Are you alright?"

"I guess I've been better. How are you?"

"Okay, I suppose."

Shawn had been staring at the floor as he spoke, but now he looked up at his half brother. "Oh, Jack, I'm really sorry. I've only been thinking about my own feelings."

Jack smiled as he went to hug his brother. "It's alright. I completely understand. I think you should get some rest. Go take a nap, okay? We can talk later."

"Thanks, Jack. See you later."

Shawn went to take a nap, but his peaceful sleep was interrupted within minutes by a dream.

 _Dream_

"Hey, Shawnie," Chet Hunter said, walking up to his son.

"Dad! What- Are you okay?"

"Sure! Why wouldn't I be?"  
"Well, I just saw you...die."

"Yeah, well, about that. Listen, Shawn. I'm sorry you didn't have the easiest childhood in the world. I know I drank a little too much and left you much too often. I'm really sorry about that. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course, Dad."

"Thanks, Shawnie. I love you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, Dad, I know. I love you, too."  
Chet Hunter smiled. "I'm glad I could talk to you. I have to go now."

"No, Dad. Wait."

Chet turned and Shawn gave a him a big hug. The older man chuckled as he hugged his son back tightly.

"I really do have to go now, Shawnie."  
"No, but Dad-"

"I'm not in your world anymore. I'm sorry, Shawn. I have to leave you."

"No, Dad!"

"G'bye, Shawnie. I love ya, son."  
Chet turned and began to walk away slowly. Shawn tried to run after him, but no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't catch up.

"Dad! Wait! Dad!"  
 _End of Dream_

"Dad! Wait! Dad!"

Jack heard Shawn's screams from the other room and ran in.

"Shawn. Shawn!" Jack took his brother by the shoulders and shook him to wake him. "Shawn, wake up!"

Shawn opened his eyes. Tears were streaming down his face. "Jack?"

"Yeah, buddy. What happened?"

"I had a dream that Dad came to talk to me. And then he left. And no matter what I did, I couldn't catch up!" Shawn was sobbing again. "I couldn't catch up," he repeated. "I couldn't do it."

Jack wrapped his arms around his younger brother, feeling tears prick his own eyes as he hugged him close. "Shh, Shawn. It's going to be alright. We're going to get through this, okay? Together."

Shawn nodded, wiping the tears from his face as he hugged his brother back. "Thanks, Jack."

"No problem. You're my brother, Shawn. Don't forget that. I love you, buddy."

Jack held Shawn tightly until his brother fell asleep again, then tucked him in and left the room. He sat on the couch for a long time just thinking. Soon, tears came again and he cried himself to sleep.

A few hours later, Shawn woke up and went into living room. Jack was awake again and reading the paper, though based on the fast rate at which he was turning the pages, it did not seem like he was actually absorbing what he was reading.

"Hey, Jack." Shawn's voice was quiet and low.

"Hey."

"What are we going to do?" Shawn's voice sounded calm, but when Jack looked into his brother's eyes he could see the pain in them, and how he was internally screaming for help.

Jack patted the seat on the couch next to him, signaling fur Shawn to sit down, which he did. "Shawn, listen. It's going to be hard at first. It's going to be really, really hard."

"I know," Shawn murmured. "I don't think I can take it anymore."

"You can take it," Jack said quickly. The response was almost frantic. "Of course you can take it, and Cory, and me, and and everyone else will be here to help you. Don't worry."

Shawn sighed. "Thanks, Jack."

Jack slung an arm around Shawn's shoulders. "No problem. That's what I'm here for."

Shawn gave a small smile, but concern quickly returned to his eyes. "Hey, are you doing alright?" he asked his brother gently.

Jack sighed and closed his eyes, suddenly not trusting himself to speak.

"Jack, what's the matter? You can talk to me."

The older boy shook his head silently, then stood and went over to lean against the island in the kitchen, his back to his brother. "It hurts so much it doesn't even make sense," he said quietly. "There's just this ongoing pain, even though I barely even knew him. We were never in contact when I lived with my mom, and even when I moved here, we didn't talk all that much. We definitely didn't have a father-son type of relationship. So it hurts something awful, but I can't explain why."

Shawn nodded knowingly. "It hurts because you love him. You will always love a parent, so you love Dad just as much as I do, having grown up in his house."

"I guess you're right. Thank you, Shawn."

"No problem. That's what I'm here for," Shawn said, echoing Jack's words from earlier.

Jack grinned and sat beside his brother once again. For the first time that day, the silence between them was comfortable in the little apartment.

A/N: What do you guys think? I want to continue this fic, but I'm not sure how to go from here. I had some ideas for bringing in Mr. Turner, but I wasn't sure how to do it. If anyone has an idea, please share it, and constructive criticism is also welcome and appreciated.  
Also, I finally watched "We'll Have a Good Time Then", which is the episode where Chet dies. It was so sad! :(  
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, Cory was racing down the street, intent on catching the bus. The driver was kind enough to wait a few extra moments at the stop as Cory caught up and clambered onto the bus.

"Thanks," Cory gasped out as he paid his fare.

The driver grinned. "No problem, son. You looked like you were in a hurry."

Cory smiled and found a seat. Five minutes later, Cory found himself in the right neighborhood. He got off at the next bus stop and walked the one block to a very familiar apartment building. Cory ran as quickly as he could up the stairs, not bothering with the elevator, and knocked on the door of an apartment.

Jon Turner opened the door, wondering who it could be, as he wasn't expecting anyone. "Matthews! What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Mr. Turner."

"Cory, what's going on?" Jon could tell that something was happening. He let Cory inside and the two sat down on the couch.

"So here's the thing." Cory was nervous, and Jon could tell.

"It's okay, Cory. Just start from the beginning."

"Well, the beginning is that Chet Hunter died yesterday."

"What?!"

"Yeah."

"Where's Shawn? Is he okay? Does he need me? Is anyone helping him out?" The usually calm teacher was now pacing, frantic for the boy he still thought of as his own son.

"It's okay. Shawn is with Jack," Cory said quickly, trying to calm Jon down.

"Who's Jack?" Jon yelled. He sounded like he was going to explode.

"Shawn's older half-brother. They've gotten really close the past few months. They share an apartment now. Shawn hasn't lived in the trailer park in quite a while."

"Oh my gosh," Jon whispered, sitting back down on the couch. "I need to go see Shawn."

Cory nodded. "I think he would like that."

Jon jumped for his keys which hung on a hook.

"No, Mr. Turner," Cory begged, "please don't take your bike. You don't want to hurt Shawn even more if he's reminded of the last time he saw you. The bus will only be an extra couple of minutes."

Jon nodded. "You're right. Let's go." He grabbed his jacket and the two ran to the bus stop.

A few minutes later, the two were sitting side by side on the bus. Now, everything that everything that Cory had said was sinking in more to Jon, and he buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe this happened."

Cory looked over at him. "Neither can any of us. But we're all trying to be strong for Shawn and Jack."

Jon nodded, composing himself as they neared their stop. Soon, the two were off the bus and running up the stairs of Shawn's apartment building.

"This is it." Cory indicated the door of Shawn's apartment to Jon, then backed away, leaving Jon alone in the hallway.

Jon took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. A young man opened it a few moments later.

"Who are you?" he asked quietly.

"I'm Jon Turner, Shawn Hunter's old teacher. Is he around?"

"Yeah. Shawn," Jack said, looking over his shoulder, "you have a visitor."

Shawn sat up straight as Jack let the visitor into the apartment. The last person he had expected to see was standing in front of him. "Jon," he whispered, standing and running into his former guardian's arms. Once there, he broke down in sobs, finally allowing himself to be the most vulnerable in the arms of someone he so loved.

"Hey, Shawn. It's okay. I've got you."

Shawn and Jon stood there a long time, holding each other tightly.

"You know, Hunter, you've got a good friend," Jon said as he finally released Shawn. "Cory came to my apartment to tell me what happened, and I got here as fast as I could."

Shawn gave a slight smile. "I'll have to thank him later."

"How are you holding up?" Jon asked Shawn suddenly, the concern evident in his voice.

"I'm doing alright, considering the circumstances," Shawn said quietly. "Jack has been a great older brother," he said, gesturing toward his brother who was leaning against the wall watching, "and we're getting through it together, holding each other up. One day at a time, y'know?"

"Yeah, Shawn. I know. I'm glad to hear that you two are doing alright. Take care of yourselves. If either of you need anything, Shawn, you know my number. Don't hesitate to call. You got that?"

"Got it, Jon. Thanks."

"No problem, Hunter."

Jon stuck around for a while after that, talking with them. He wanted to be a comforting presence for Shawn, and Shawn didn't seem to want him to leave, so he stayed. It was that simple.

A/N: Did you like it? Constructive criticism welcome!


End file.
